Project Run and Play // Recap

I cannot believe it, but Project Run and Play Season 14 is over. What a ride it has been! Honestly, I never imagined I could be a designer for Project Run and Play. It was something I only dreamed of and as I have learned over the past month, dreams do come true!

The competition is over and I will admit that I am both relieved and a little sad. Relieved because this was one of the most stressful months I have ever been through. Planning, coming up with designs, sewing, taking pictures, writing blog posts, making deadlines, promoting my designs on facebook and instagram. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes too and I am so grateful to all the ladies that make Project Run and Play possible! Without them, there would be no competition.

I am also a little sad, because it has been an amazing experience and I had so much fun! The other designers will understand what I mean when I say that it was stressful and fun at the same time. I had the honor of sewing with and competing against some amazing ladies. You are all very talented and I feel so honored to have been a part of Season 14 with every one of you. I can't wait to see what you continue to sew and I am so glad to have "met" you this past month! It is true that we were all competing against each other, but I was always sad to see someone go each week and I truly wanted everyone to win.

Even though the competition is over, I can't stop talking about it and I don't think I will stop talking about it for a long time. I learned so much about myself and my sewing skills in the past month. I was challenged in so many different ways and I know this will help me in the future. As part of the competition, we are allowed to use patterns but as "designers" we are supposed to make them our own. This was a huge challenge for me. I normally follow a pattern word for word and don't make any changes! I want my sewing projects to turn out right and with veering from a pattern there is a risk of it not turning out! However, I am happy to say that I surprised myself! Project Run and Play really pushed me to do my best and be as creative as possible. I would've never made any of these outfits if not for the competition. Now, I am excited to see what I can do with my sewing in the future! 

Project Run and Play taught me to love blogging again! Honestly, I have not been blogging much this year even though I have been sewing more than ever. I have been sharing my makes on my instagram account but I had no motivation to keep up my blog. I was seriously considering closing down my blog when I got the message from Audrey of Skirt Fixation inviting me to be a part of the competition! I'm so grateful for that because I still enjoy blogging! I can't promise I will post every week or post about everything I make, but there will be more from me here! This blog isn't going away anytime soon! I hope you will stay with me for the ride! 

Week 3 was my favorite look by far! It challenged me on so many different levels and I am really proud of the jacket. I used a dress pattern and took my chances with making it into a jacket! It worked out better than I ever thought it would and I am a little bit jealous of my sister's awesome new wardrobe! 

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my posts and encouraged me along the way! It has been so much fun sharing this adventure with you and I can't wait to see what the future holds! For now, I will be tackling some projects for myself on my fall sewing list! I have loved sewing all month long for my siblings (and now my sister has an awesome new wardrobe) but I want to catch up on some sewing for myself! On the list is a plaid flannel Cheyenne tunic, and a Lane Raglan hoodie!  After that, I will start on Christmas dresses! 

I will leave you with some outtakes from our photo shoots. It was so much fun taking pictures of my siblings each week and I am so thankful that they put up with my many pictures! My sister certainly makes me laugh every time! 

I told her to smell the flowers, so she plugged her nose instead!

Thank you again for joining me on this journey!

~Elizabeth

Project Run and Play Week 4 // Totally Turquoise

Wow! I am so excited to be back for the final week of Project Run and Play! I never imagined making it to Signature Style week. It has been an amazing experience and I have enjoyed every minute! It is truly a dream come true to just be a part of this competition! Thank you so much for reading my blog posts, commenting, voting, and supporting me these past few weeks! A huge thank you to my family and friends who have put up with my nonstop talk about Project Run and Play too! 

Signature style was not an easy challenge for me. I mostly sew for myself and my siblings and my style can be different depending on who I am sewing for and my style also depends on the season. I drew up six different designs before scrapping them all and coming up with this look. Turquoise is my favorite color ever and I knew it had to be part of my design, so when I found this wool turquoise in my stash it was perfect! 

I am a skirt girl, so I knew I had to make a skirt as part of my design. I love the classic look of circle skirts too, so I used the circle skirt from the Janie dress pattern to make my sister's skirt. I lined it in a bright pink floral because my sister's favorite color is pink. All of the seams are enclosed, so the skirt is reversible if my sister wants to wear it with the pink side facing out. 

The big floral design inspired me to do some embroidery on the wool side. I like adding details to my designs, and the solid turquoise was the perfect canvas for some embroidery. I chose to embroider some of the big pink flowers along the hem of the skirt. I didn't have any embroidery thread, so I used grey topstitching thread and it worked just as well! 

Here's some up close pictures of the embroidery. I chose to use a chain stitch for most of the flowers. I used a stem stitch on a few as well. This took the most time, but I am happy with the final result!

 The grey shirt also started with the Janie dress. I used the bodice and lengthened it a few inches to make it shirt length. I also widened the neckline by five inches so I could add in some gathering.  I love the subtle detail it adds and it really takes the shirt above t-shirt level. I used turquoise knit for the neckband to tie it in with the rest of the outfit. 

Her poor little nose was getting red from the cold, but she did so great putting up with all my pictures!

I love wearing scarfs, so I made my sister a simple infinity scarf using this turquoise and orange floral rayon challis. This fabric was going to be the skirt when I first started. However, it was so off grain that no matter what I did there was no hope. Fortunately, it makes a cute scarf!

My signature style look was going to end with just the shirt, skirt, and scarf. However, the Minnesota weather suddenly turned colder and I decided my sister needed something to keep warm! 

I started with an old sweater of mine, that I have been holding onto for a few years. The buttons were falling off and it had a missing snap. It also didn't fit me right, which is why I never wore it, but I loved the details so I kept it hoping for the perfect project.

I decided to use the Friday dress bodice to make a jacket. I cut the bodice in half, close to the armscye. Then I cut the bottom of the sweater to add the length back in. I wanted to use the collar and the sleeve cuffs from the sweater because I loved the details. I used the long sleeve pattern from the Friday dress pattern, but I cut them shorter so as to add the cuffs. I like how the cuffs add almost a bell like sleeve to the jacket. For the collar, I pinned it on to determine how much I needed to take off and then sewed it on. 

I added some decorative topstitching to the shoulder seams and I double topstitched around the collar. I also sewed both buttons from the sweater onto the collar. I decided on snaps for a closure so it will be easy for my sister to dress herself. 

This jacket was not planned at all when I started sewing my signature style. However, it is now my favorite piece of the whole outfit! My only regret is that it is not my size!

Finally, the earwarmer completes the look and will be perfect for keeping my little sister warm on these brisk and cool winter days. I was inspired by a similar one that I made for myself a few years ago. I used the same pattern from Kay Whitt's book, but I resized it for my sister. I used pink fleece for the bottom layer and the turquoise wool for the top. I love the little flower and it goes great with my overall floral theme. 

Here are a few more pictures we took indoors at the library! 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my signature style! It's totally turquoise, and totally my style. I love how versatile these pieces are and my sister will be able to mix and match with the other outfits I made! Thank you again for joining me on this journey!

 Don't forget to head over the the Project Run and Play blog and vote!

~Elizabeth

An Easter Lady Skater Dress

Happy Friday! I'm back today to share the Easter dress I made for my sister, Miss K. She is 14 years old and starting to fit into the smallest end of women's sizes, so I made her the Lady Skater dress in size 2.

I have posted many times before (here, here, here, and here) about my love of the Lady Skater dress, and I really don't have anything new to say. It is a great dress! My Lady Skater dresses are still in heavy rotation in my wardrobe, so I thought it would be the perfect dress for my sister. She wore it for Easter, but it will be a great dress to wear throughout the summer as well.

The fabric is Liverpool knit from my favorite fabric store, Raspberry Creek Fabrics. I had never sewn with Liverpool before, but it wasn't too difficult. It is textured on the right side and smooth on the wrong side. It was a bit slippery, making the hemming a challenge, but I just needed to go slow and be patient with the fabric. :)

I am still learning about fitting all the time. It is one thing to fit patterns to yourself and another for other people. I could've shortened the bodice on this and there is some extra fabric in the sleeve area,  but overall, it's not a bad start. It will fit her for awhile at least!

~Elizabeth

Friday Dress

Hello, dear blog readers! Spring is one of my favorite times of year, especially here in the Midwest when it finally starts to warm up. I think we are finally past the cold weather, although you can never be too sure. You might wear your winter and summer clothes all in one week! 

Although I have not been blogging as much, I have been sewing quite a bit. My most recent big project was to make Easter dresses for my sisters and I. First up is the Friday Dress, which I sewed for my littlest sister, Miss V. She's not so little anymore, as she likes to remind me! 

The Friday Dress is from Petit a Petit patterns and it is a very classic shirtdress design. As soon as I saw the pattern, I knew it would be perfect for my little sister. The size ranges up to 12 years, so it is a pattern I can use again and again.

There are so many options too, making it perfect for a wide range of ages. For this dress, I chose the full, gathered skirt with a mandarin collar, short sleeves, pockets, and buttons all the way down the front. The dress also comes with the options of a semi-circle skirt, traditional shirt collar, rounded collar, buttons half way down, and long sleeves.

Isn't she the cutest? I made the size 4t and lengthened the skirt quite a few inches because she is tall and I want her to be able to wear this dress for awhile.

I love the collar on this dress! It is so unique and adds a feminine touch to the traditional shirt dress.

The fabric is an Art Gallery cotton, which I bought from my favorite fabric store - Raspberry Creek Fabrics. I have never worked with Art Gallery fabrics before, but this was wonderful to sew! It is a really high quality cotton and the colors are some of my favorites. After some debating with myself and asking for other opinions, I went with navy blue buttons to accent the navy blue flowers on the fabric.

The buttonholes were the most difficult for me. I use the automatic buttonhole foot on my machine, which sometimes works great and sometimes it doesn't work well at all. My first error was mine alone because I put the wrong size button in the buttonholer. I didn't realize it until sewing all of the buttonholes! My seam ripper and I became great friends that day, haha. Even after I had the right size button, some of the buttonholes were too crooked, so I redid them again! They ended up okay in the end, but buttonholes are one of my least favorite things to sew!

The pockets were just the right size for her little hands and perfect for carrying Easter eggs!

I love the little pleat on the back of the dress. I have never sewn a Petit a Petit pattern before, but the instructions are very well done and very detailed. I was impressed with the quality. Even though I have sewn shirts and shirt dress styles before, I find that there is always something new to learn. 

Miss V loves her new Easter dress! She wore it all day on Easter Sunday and has worn it quite a few times since. She is fun to sew for, especially now that she likes (most of) the clothes I make for her!

What have you been sewing? I will be back to blog about the other dresses I made for Easter. I also have been posting for Me Made May on Instagram, so feel free to follow me there if you like!

~Elizabeth

The Ila Dress

Last month, I had the opportunity to test the Ila Dress pattern from a new to me pattern company - Coffee + Thread. I have read Olga's blog in the past, but had never sewn any of her patterns, so I was excited for this opportunity!

The testing process was very thorough, and although I was only able to test the first version of the pattern there were so many other wonderful testers. All of the testers did an amazing job testing the Ila dress! It is a really sweet dress and I am looking forward to sewing another one for my little sister.

The Ila dress is an A-line dress with a shaped yoke, the option for a front panel and front hidden pockets. It comes with options for short or long sleeves. With the design of the dress, there are so many ways to add in piping, lace, other trims, and even color blocking.

The fabric I used for this dress is some type of sturdy cotton from my stash. It works well with the shape of this dress. I have some corduroy fabric in my stash that I would like to try with this pattern as well. I think corduroy would be perfect for a winter dress.

I was not intending to add any trim to this dress, but I had this beautiful navy blue lace that was a perfect match for the fabric, so I knew it had to be done! I love how it turned out. The lace really adds to the dress.

The pattern comes in sizes 18 months to 12 years. I made the size 4 for my little sister. She is tall for her age, so the only change I made was to lengthen the dress to size 5 and it fits her great!

Another great thing about this pattern, is that the pdf comes in layers, so you have the option to print only the size you need. I have only worked with layered patterns a few times before and so far I really like it! You only see the size you need rather than trying to tape together a wide range of sizes.

The back has an invisible zipper, which is my favorite type of closure for a dress. They are easy to sew even without an invisible zipper foot.

I love the simple, clean lines of this dress. I think it is perfect for little girls, especially if they are always on the move, like my sister. The pockets are also one of my favorite things about the Ila dress. They are hidden into the front seam where the skirt attaches to the bodices panels.

Miss V likes the dress too and has worn it many times since we took these pictures. 

Thank you again Olga for the opportunity to test! 

~Elizabeth

The Janie Dress

I am so excited to share this new pattern with you!! It is the Janie Dress by Mouse House Creations and was just released a couple days ago. I had the opportunity to be part of the testing group for this pattern and I think it is a great pattern! It comes in sizes 6 months to 12 years with several different options. You can make a cowl neck, regular neck, peter pan collar with ballet scoop back, long sleeves, half sleeves, short sleeves, circle skirt, gathered circle skirt, and peplum. There are even pockets!

I made a size 4 with a size 5 length, since Miss V is tall for her age. The fit is perfect! I was able to use fabric from my stash - the grey and white polka dots is the french terry from my Lane Raglan and the pink is a random knit from the thrift store.

I love the cowl collar - it will be perfect once the weather finally gets colder. It has been unseasonably warm for November, here in MN.

Circle skirts are great for twirling in!

The Janie Dress is a really quick sew. I actually made 5 within the last week. I may be slightly addicted to this pattern! I made 2 versions for Miss V and I also made a 3T for my cousin's little girl. I also made two 6 month sizes for my newest baby cousin and they are so adorable! I can't wait to see her wearing them.

This is the basic neckline version. The bodice is a stretchy interlock from my stash and the skirt is a mystery knit, but it worked well for testing this pattern! 

She loves her new dresses!

You can see more tester versions of the Janie dress here. 

Also, check out these blog posts: Crafti Mom, A Jennuine Life, Anna's Heirloom Boutique 

~Elizabeth